History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t1.1

v1.c32.s2.t1.1

Dams are barriers, natural or artificial, to hold back flow of waters. They were in existence from time memorial. Such prehistoric dams, now called Gebr-band, are still to be found on many water-courses in the Western parts of the region. The pre- Aryan method of agriculture depended upon natural flood and flooding the lands on the banks of smaller rivers by means of seasonal dams without regular masonary to obtain the rich alluvial deposit of silt to be stirred by the barrow. These artificial barrier dams broken by Indra are mentioned in the Rgveda (2.15.8, vide Kosambi, 1975, pp. 74-75) in connection with the Vṛtra myth. Here the term Vṛtra stands for ‘obstacle’, ‘barrage’ and so on. Such artificial dams are mentioned in the Rgveda as ‘rodhas’. These mountainous dams had flood gates which are described as the soft belly of the mountain from which the waters flowed. The flood gates are mentioned as bila, ūdha or dūra (RV. 5.32.11, vide Shendge, 1990, p. 255).